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A Party That Makes a Difference: The Record-Breaking 2025 Taft Fundraising Gala

03 May 2025

The Taft Museum of Art welcomed supporters on May 2, 2025, to experience Royal Palms at the Taft, a celebration and gala supporting the museum’s educational and outreach programs. Guests delighted in an elevated culinary experience with dinner by the bite, espresso martinis, and the rhythms of live music by the Naked Karate Girls.

The tropical, 1960s-themed event grossed over $320,000 for another record-breaking year, raising funds to help support Taft’s many free educational programs such as Art for All, Artists Reaching Classrooms, and Family Fundays.

2025 Gala Co-Chairs Kelsey Bahl and Sarah Jane Meek
Guests in the Garden
Guests under the Garden Tent
Gala Committee | Randy Lasley; Phillip Long; Ron Bates; Laura Pease; Alexa McDonald; Francie Wehmeyer; Rob McDonald; Sarah Jane Meek; Alex Phillips; Kelsey Bahl; Kristin Bohlke; Paula Comisar; John Bahl; Sue Blum; Brandon Meek; Sonya McNamara; Ellie Oullette; Nick Bohlke; Olivia Phillips; Jennifer Horvath
Patrick Ford, Jennifer Horvath, Phillip Long, Rebekah Beaulieu
Larry Mcgruder, Jill Mcgruder, Megan Shields, Larry Shields
Heidi Jark, Steve Kenat
Kevin Kirby, Bo Kyung Kim Kirby
Audra Rance, Dara Kendall, Rob Starghill, Jennifer Horvath
Katie Siegwarth, Les Hofheinz
John Bahl, Kelsey Bahl, Sarah Jane Meek, Brandon Meek
Naked Karate Girls
The Taft Museum of Art provides crucial educational resources to schools, teachers, and students throughout the greater Cincinnati region each year. The gala helps support this critical work, ensuring the next generation of students have access and mentorship to cultivate creativity, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, as well as social-emotional growth and wellness.
Kelsey Bahl
Gala Co-Chair, and member of Board of Trustees

Thank You to the 2025 Sponsors!

Kelsey Bahl (Co-Chair), Sarah Jane Meek (Co-Chair), Ron Bates and Randy Lasley, Sue Blum, Kristin Bohlke, Paula Comisar, Jennifer Dakers, Whitney Evans, Nancy Fehr, Bree Joseph, Jamie Lanier, Madeline and John Lawrence, Lee Lindner, Philip Long, Alexa and Rob McDonald, Kailey McGraw, Sonya and Nate McNamara, Ellie and Jeff Ouellette, Laura Pease, Olivia and Alex Phillips, Kelsey Rosenkrantz, Abbey Schimberg, Anne Shanahan, Peggy Tarpley, Francie Wehmeyer, Julie Wirtz, Tamela Zimmerman

Bahl & Gaynor, Chemed Foundation, Ginger Warner 

Fifth Third Bank, Amy and George Joseph, AAT Lanier Fund, Sherie Marek, The Oliver Family Foundation, Western & Southern Financial Group

A Friend of the Taft, Laura and Kevin Dickey, Eat Well Celebrations and Feasts, Frost Brown Todd–Chris and Angela Habel, Philip Long in memory of Whitney Long, Kenneth Taft Mahler and Molly M. Mahler, Elizabeth Warner and Laurent Huguenin

19/19 Investment Counsel, Castellini Foundation, CET/PBS, Deborah and Paul Chellgren, Nancy and Rick Fehr, John and Madeline Lawrence, Jane and Jon Votel, Debbie and Rick Wulfeck

AGAR, The Blue Book of Cincinnati, Sue and Larry Blum, Cincinnati Art Galleries LLC, Fitz the Occasion, Sarah and Tim Fogarty, GBBN, Kristen and Trey Kelly, LOTH, Alexa and Rob McDonald, Larry and Jill McGruder, Dan and Deb Meyer, Sara and David Osborn, Laura and Chip Pease, Prolink, Ellen Rieveschl, Elizabeth and Patrick Rogers, Tom Schiff, Kathy and Dave Schmitt, Lauren and Tom Shafer, Rob and Michelle Shively, Robert and Rhonda Starghill, Taft Law, Terri and Bill Tobler, Rachel and Ted Twyman, Waltz Business Solutions, Anne Warrington Wilson, Frances and Evan Wehmeyer, Barbara Weyand

A Friend of the Taft (2)
Lynne Ambrosini
Kelsey and John Bahl
J. Barber Design Build
Ron Bates and Randy Lasley
Jay Beech and Carol Armstrong
Kristin and Nicholas Bohlke
Jack and Joanne Brown
Karen and Will Brown
Shannon and Lee Carter
Barbara L. Cogan
Philip and Anne Lilly Cone
Jennifer and Michael Dakers
Rodger and Debbie Davis
Josh and Lisa Diedrichs
Dianne Dunkelman and Peter Schwartz
Whitney and Doug Evans
Trevor and Amy Furbay
Sama and Kevin Gade
Jane Garvey and John Lanier
Gerry Greene
Bob and Chris Groenke
David and Debra Hausrath
Brian and Helen Heekin
Kelly Heinichen
Jen and Lyle Horvath
Melanie and Doug Hynden
Intellex, LLC
Heidi Jark and Steve Kenat
Candyse L. Jeffries and Michael A. Marrero
Dara M. Kendall
Kevin and Bo-Kyung Kim Kirby
Heather and Lee Krombholz
Jamie and Addison Lanier II
Lee and Will Lindner
Deborah Long
Alleen and Shayne Manning
Sonya and Nate McNamara
Sarah Jane and Brandon Meek
Kyle and Sarah Motycka
Ellie and Jeff Ouellette
Noel and Cole Patterson 
Stacey and Sharon Reherman
Kelsey Rosenkrantz
Jack Schiff, Jr.
Betsy K. Schwartz
Anne and Jim Shanahan
Ann Silvers
Dr. Martin and Cherie Silverstein
Kris and Gil Spencer
Denise N. Strasser
Peggy and Matthew Tarpley
Beverly Thomas and Roy Robbins
Lynne and Steve Vollmer
Senator Steve and Jill Wilson
Bryan and Julie Wirtz
Alison and Jim Zimmerman

Looking to get involved and support the museum?
Learn how you can give, from individual to corporate support here.

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Some anniversaries simply invite us to celebrate. Others encourage us to ask why a legacy has endured. As the Taft Museum of Art commemorates the 175th anniversary of Robert S. Duncanson's landmark murals alongside the 40th anniversary of the Duncanson Program, we have a rare opportunity to reflect on how one artist's legacy has evolved from a remarkable chapter in history into a model for museums committed to creativity, community, and cultural equity.

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